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Mike Kim

Author, activist | ‘Escaping North Korea’ | Class of 1999

Nearly two decades after leaving C-U, Mike Kim (’99)still longs for the cornfields south of campus, where he’d ride his motorcycle and star gaze.

“College was a very formative time for me and I loved the feeling of being out in the middle of nowhere at night, admiring the stars — and putting Astronomy 100 to use — and taking time out to reflect,” says the founder of Crossing Borders, a nonprofit dedicated to providing humanitarian assistance to North Korean refugees.

“It’s been tough to find corn fields to recreate the same experience since leaving Champaign-Urbana.”